Is There a Doctor in the House?

For all of you in the audience keeping score, the White Sox announced yesterday that pitcher Carlos Rodon will have Tommy John surgery while reliever Nate Jones and top-thirty prospect outfielder Micker Adolfo—both of whom already have had Tommy John—also will miss the rest of the season after arm surgery.  Oh, and did I mention pitching prospects Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning, last year’s Tommy John recipient and this year’s, respectively?  Silly me.

 

For years, Hawk Harrelson bragged about how good Sox trainer Herm Schneider was at keeping players off the DL; well, things have changed.  Either that was all a lie, or we live in different times.  I’m going with door No. 2 here.  Instead of being like every other MLB team, the Sox should skip the analytics and go straight to anatomy.  Therein lies the future.

 

Would a state-of-the-art brace or a sleeve on the elbow reduce strain on otherwise vulnerable ligaments?  Are certain pitching styles invitations to injury?  (Unfortunately, with Jones, just stepping onto the mound seems to be the problem.  This is his fourth surgery.)  Can deliveries be altered before surgery becomes necessary, or should a team avoid drafting any pitcher with injury-inviting mechanics?  If muscles can be exercised, can ligaments, to the point of reducing the chance of injury?  Was Steve Carlton onto something when he worked his pitching hand in a bucketl full of rice?

 

These are some of the questions the White Sox and other teams need to start asking.